The World is Snowblind Chapter 8, a hetalia - axis powers fanfic

March 5, 1770~

It was dark; darker than the night sky was usually. I listened to the sounds of my shoes click against the cobbled streets of the town. The lights from the lamps that lined the curbs danced back and forth, illuminating the houses and stores. The leaning structures of wood creaked toward me and bent with the eerie wind that fluttered against my cheeks. I recognized then where I was:

King Street.

An icy chill ran down the back of my neck. It was like someone was hovering behind me, though my feet were planted to the ground. I couldn't move. Four more times, the shivering feeling graced my skin.

The sky started to dim even more and the candle light from the lamps blew out in a silent flutter. I tried to look around but my head stayed forward, unmovable, just as my legs. I blinked as a shadow crept from the edge of the road and slid to the center of my view. My chest jumped as the shadow slowly morphed into a man, the outline clear but all detail gone, replaced with a dark gathering of nothingness. I watched in mid horror as four more figures slip from the first.

I felt my heart thump. "Who are you…?" My words came out limp and my voice died. My tongue went dry and my mouth shut.

The figure furthest to the right suddenly grabbed at his chest and fell to the ground. Some loud click went off beside my ear, like gunfire. It rattled me down to the center of my stomach. I wanted to run, I was scared, but I couldn't. The figure at the left end soon followed his fallen friend. Again, the sound shot through my ears. The third fell. Another shot. The fourth. Another... and then stood one.

It seemed like my body was about to break. The sounds seemed to have frozen me even further. My eyes locked onto the last figure standing. The skin around my cheeks stretched as my eyes grew and grew. I was so scared.

The figure finally made a move. Instead of just falling to the ground, he raised his arm, pointing a slim finger at my chest. Then, like all the others, he fell to the ground, a heap of shadows that would never again stand. I started to franticly try as hard as I could to wave my arms, to catch myself, as I felt myself slowly tip back on my heels.

The sky tilted and the buildings stretched upwards as my head went down. I descended to the dark brick street in a hard crash. I laid there, motionless, staring at the starless sky. The feelings of dread I had only just felt had suddenly vanished, leaving me hollow, without thought. I tried again to move my head and easily, I rolled it to the side. Spreading around me was a pool of red silk, a growing reflection of blood.

I stared blankly at the warmth that covered the back of my head. It eased its way through the crevices of the street out further and further away from me. It seemed to cover the road, the town, the sky. I didn't see shadows anymore, nothing was black, everything had turned scarlet.

—

I jolted. My eyes searched wildly over the wooden ceiling. I blinked and opened my dry mouth. I sighed at the felling of movement. What an awful dream.

I sat up slowly and glanced around. I was in my room, safe in my bed, surrounded by walls of a warm home. I rolled all my joints, just to make sure I still could, then moved my legs over the side of the bed. I shivered as my bare feet touched the floor. I looked over at my clock and grimaced. It was too late to be up and walking through the house but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, not after that dream…

I stood up achingly and stretched out my back. I slipped on a pair of cloth shoes and walked to my door. The round doorknob hit my palm smoothly and the door swung noiselessly open. I walked out into the dark hallway and shivered at the memory of how dark my dream had been. I stepped lightly over to the top of the stairs.

A childish fear urged me to go down the stair quickly. I sped down the steps and jumped down into the front room. I stared back up at the dark second floor and frowned. A long time ago, I had rid myself of that stupid fear of the dark, I guess the dream stirred it back up.

I looked over at the dinning where the soft sounds of plates clicking from the kitchen drifted through the doorway. I walked in and stared at the empty room. Light from the kitchen lit the walls dimly and the heat skimmed my cheeks. I walked closer to the kitchen door only to jump backwards as Miss Jamie rounded the corner.

"Oh!" Miss Jamie jumped then stared at me with a gleaming smile. "Well hello Mister Matthew."

I stared up at her sheepishly. "Hello… Sorry I startled you."

Miss Jamie waved her hand absently. "Oh, don't. It was my fault anyway. I thought you were out for the night."

I moved aside as Miss Jamie waked by and sat down at the empty center table. I studied her from where I stood. She had aged. Her body had filled out and her face was now slimmer, lacking of the reddish tint she use to always wear. Her curly blonde hair that she had kept long for such a time now only hung to her shoulders. Her bright, wondering blue eyes were now darker and held a more mature shine to them.

I walked over to the table and took the seat next to Miss Jamie. I stared at the tabletop before the feeling of eyes on me made me turn. "Hmm?"

Miss Jamie blinked then smiled. She held one hand up under her chin while moving the other over to a basket of leftover rolls. She slowly pulled it over and scooted it slightly closer to me. "Oh, you didn't get to eat dinner. You must be hungry," she said nudging the basket again.

I smiled and shook my head. "It's fine. I'm not that hungry."

Miss Jamie sucked in one side of her mouth and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" she paused to pluck a roll from the basket. She popped it into her mouth and made a soothing sound.

I laughed quietly then sniffed. "When did I go to sleep?"

Miss Jamie devoured another piece of bread before answering. "Oh, well you came into the sitting room and said you were trying to find your book. Mister Alfred said he would help you look up in your room, but when he got there, you were asleep," she said.

"Oh…" I slowly started to remember my futile search for that stupid book Robinson Crusoe. I had looked all over my room and ended up looking under my bed while lying on top of it. "Well, this week has been tiring."

Miss Jamie nodded. "Oh, it has."

Both of us then stopped talking and that's when I first realized that we were the only two down here. "Where is everyone?" I asked.

Miss Jamie, mid-bite, sat down her current roll and began listing off the whereabouts of the household. "Oh, mother's asleep in her room. She went almost the same time you did. Um…" she stopped and frowned. "Mister Alfred is off with Samuel and Davidson," she said, huffing. "Oh, Davidson rode them into town so they could go visit some friends, the Carys, and said I couldn't go with them because they were going to do "manly things"," she took another huge bite from her roll and muttered with a full mouth, "Oh, those men…"

I smiled at the pout Miss Jamie gave. I blinked. "And where's Arthur?"

Miss Jamie paused. "Ah…oh, Mister Kirkland's in the library," she said. "He's been in there all by himself for so long. You might go check on him, Mister Matthew."

I cringed. I didn't want to speak with Arthur. Over the last couple of years, he has become a tightly-wound old man—I don't know what happened, but after that night, when Alfred had been allowed to that meeting, Arthur was never the same. He didn't have that glint of actual emotion in his eyes anymore, but a cold depthless pressure that burned into everything he looked at—He never ceased in showing me just how dark he could be. Though he never really noticed me, now days, I'm not even a dot in his eyesight.

"Maybe later," I said head down.

Miss Jamie mumbled. "Oh, I know that Mister Kirkland isn't the most…warmest of people, but he is still your family."

I froze at that. I didn't consider anyone apart of my family other than the household and Alfred. Not Arthur and certainly not him. "Alright…" I reluctantly stood up from my seat and started to walk away. I felt Miss Jamie gently touch the back of my arm. I glanced over at her tenderly then kept walking on.

I walked through the front room and into the sitting room. The twinkling stars in the night sky and the bright moon spilled rays of bluish light over the unlit room. I looked over at the library's shut door. I sighed and walked through the moonlit floor over to the next room.

I tapped on the door's surface and waited. Nothing happened. I sighed and tapped again. Still, quiet. I bit the inside of my mouth and grabbed the doorknob. I slowly twisted it and opened the door inch by inch. "Arthur…?" I whispered his name as I fully opened the door.

I stared blankly at the man who sat at the table. I had never seen him like this before. Sitting in the wooden chair, head resting in the palm of his upright hand, was Arthur, fast asleep.

I hesitated before waking cautiously inside the room and over to the desk. I stopped when I was only feet away and stared at the other. He had been working—seeing as how a quill rested precariously in his left hand, its ink still spreading into a dark blotch on his paper. I observed Arthur's face in near astonishment. He looked so ragged and tired, and even with his eyes resting, dark circles lined their bottoms. For the first time, I was seeing how Arthur really looked. The powerful aura that always followed him was gone and his face looked so miserable. I felt terrible forever thinking such awful things about him. I actually felt pity for the man.

"Mmm—"

I stepped back as Arthur's eyes opened. He glanced around with a groggy sway of his head then looked straight at me. My eyes lock onto his and I stood their fidgeting. His eyes were dark and bloodshot but still dug into my chest, making me feel small. "H-Hello, Art-Arthur," I stumbled over my words, like I always do around him.

Arthur stared at me a little longer then blinked widely, a sudden look of unexpectedness flashing over them. "Matthew? Wha…" his voice came out rough and dry and he cleared his throat in an unsettling cough. "What time is it?"

I watched him sit up straighter in his seat and glare down at his ruined paper. He looked back at me irritated when I didn't answer. "Oh! I-It's nearly eleven thirty."

His next question was not surprising. "Is Alfred back from town?"

I paused before shaking my head. "No."

Arthur breathed heavily then coughed again. He twisted in his chair, blinking repeatedly to wake his eyes, and leaned across to a nearby shelf. He pulled a book that sat on top of the others and held it out to me. "Is this that book you were looking for?"

I craned my neck and read the blue letters of the book; Robinson Crusoe. "Y-Yes," I took the book in my hands and smile slightly. "Thank you, Arthur."

Arthur barley moved the side of his lips in a recognizing smirk. "You're welcome."

I nodded slowly and then began the long wait as no more words were spoken. Arthur stood up from his chair and walked over to the window behind him. Its bottom was open slightly and when Arthur's fingers touched the frame, it shut with a creaking sound. He turned to me and glanced over my face. "Why are you up Matthew?"

I stared at the floor for a moment. I didn't want to tell Arthur about my dream, if anyone it was going to be Alfred. I shook my head. "I just woke up. Now I can't seem to fall back asleep."

Arthur scoffed. "I know what that's like." He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. He glanced over at me then picked at his sleeve. "Have you—" he paused mid-sentence, as if trying to genuinely talk with me. "Have you been doing well in Brixton's lessons?"

I blinked at him sadly. Mr. Brixton had left for his home in Georgia almost two months earlier. He had told me that his family had asked for him to come back south. He also told me that Alfred and I had learned all we needed to learn so his teachings wouldn't be required. His leave was a sad one for everyone, but apparently not sad enough for Arthur to remember it. "Mr. Brixton's been gone since January. He moved back to Georgia." Arthur stared at me dumbly. "H-His family's down there."

"So you've been doing nothing this past month?" Arthur's question took me by surprise.

"U-Um, no, actually, I've been reading a lot and learning by myself," I said.

Arthur's smirk broadened. "You always did have your nose in a book."

I frowned. The statement stung but I kept my tongue. "Yeah I guess."

The soles of Arthur's shoes clicked as he leaned forward. He smiled at me and opened his mouth to say more when the sound of doors slamming echoed through the air. My head whipped around while Arthur stood up straight in surprise. He and I walked to the door as a voice yelled from outside the room.

"Mister Kirkland! Mister Kirkland—oh, please! Mister Kirkland!"

I glanced over at Arthur then backed away as he bolted out the door. I followed after him, the feeling of dread growing in the back of my throat. We turned the corner of the sitting room and entered the front room. I stared from behind Arthur's back and watched as Davidson ran up the stairs, arms wild.

"What the bloody hell are you doing, Davidson?" Arthur said eyes wide, brow furrowed.

Davidson turned and looked down the stairs. His dark skin was covered in sweat and his eyes were red. His chest rose and fell quickly. "Oh lord—Mister Kirkland. Mister Kirkland," Davidson ran back down the stairs and stopped abruptly in front of us. "You—you have to come. You have to come to the town. Some—somethin' terrible has happened."

Arthur raised his hands as Davidson panted. "What has happened, Davidson?"

Across the room, Miss Jamie had come out of the dining room, hands gripping her dress startled. "Mi-Mister Samuel's had an accident. He was hurt real bad."

"What happened to Maverick," Davidson flinched as Arthur grabbed his shoulders roughly, "and what about Alfred?"

Davidson paused, eyes wide, and then swallowed. "There was an argument and some men started shoutin'. Th-Then there was gun fire and—Samuel was shot."

Davidson stopped talking when Miss Jamie gasped. She immediately ran to the front door. All three of us watched as she opened it and sprinted down the pathway. Arthur and I stared back at Davidson with utter shock.

"What about Alfred?" Arthur whispered. Davidson started to babble and Arthur's face slowly started to shift. His voice came out hoarse. "Where is he!"

"H-He's still back in town, w-with Samuel."

Davidson barely had time to finish speaking before Arthur ran out the door as well. I watched his back get further and further away. He pasted Miss Jamie, who still ran down the last part of the pathway, within a few leaps. In a moment, Arthur body was devoured by the shadows of the town.

I looked back at Davidson. He stood holding his tattered cap close to his chest while tears ran down his face.

I shook my head and stared at the ground. My stomach was twisted and my heart was beating at an outrageous rate. I stood motionless as the scene sunk deeper into my head. The back of my neck suddenly went cold and my skin rose. It seemed like time was dying and the air had turned poisonous. I wanted Alfred and Samuel back. I wanted for everything that Davidson had said to just be erased.

My feet started to move, heel to toe. They soon picked up traction and I found myself running faster than I ever had down the pathway of the house. I heard Davidson shout my name then began to run after me.

Wind rushed by my ears and brushed my face. My legs throbbed and my breath came out short. I sped down the wooden steps and my feet finally touched the stone streets of the town. I tripped slightly and my leg twisted. I grunted softly then began to run again, this time with an aching limp. Davidson came up behind me, huffing and wheezing.

We quickly walked past building after building till we reached the edge of a muttering crowd. I looked around wildly. Everything was blurring together as the emotions in the back of my eyes finally contacted. I wiped at the tears and stared wide eyed.

People stood close together, some standing on the street, most huddling by shop doorway. Soldiers in their mandatory British uniforms stood lined up, yelling and pointing their rifles at different shivering colonists. My eyes darted around until they finally landed on a small group of people encircling a screaming woman, her body flung over a man who lay unmoving in the street.

The woman was Miss Jamie.

"Sam!" Miss Jamie screamed down at the bloody body next to her. "Sam, Sam! Open your eyes Sam! Samuel Maverick!"

I paused in awe before walking closer. I nudged determinedly through the crowd and stopped in front of Miss Jamie and Samuel. I stared down at him, face numb.

Along with Miss Jamie, Samuel had grown too. His hair had darkened to a deep brown tint and his face was sprouting small hairs. His face was stronger and his arms were bigger. His hands, now large and calloused, gripped at his middle, blood flowing out from under them.

I gasped and felt slick tears cascade down my cheeks. I felt an invisible weight press down on my head, making me go to my knees. I wrapped my arms around Miss Jamie's shoulders and buried my face into her back. I felt her loud cries ripple down the back of her neck and against my skin. I sobbed silently with her, each breath I took leaving me to gasp for another. I felt a hand grip my shoulder and lips kiss the back of my head. I glanced over and saw Alfred kneeing behind me.

"A-Al…" I turned away from Miss Jamie and collided with Alfred's chest.

Alfred hugged me tightly and kept my face close to him. I could feel his heartbeat racing, the sound beating in my ear.

Everyone went quiet as a booming voice shot through the air, followed by stomping feet. "Where the hell is that doctor!"

I looked up to see Arthur bustling through the crowd, elbowing people that got in front of him. His face was contorted with rage and anxiety. His brow was glistening with sweat and the collar of his shirt was equally damp. He looked down at Samuel then at me. His eyes traveled across my face before landing on Al's. He took a step closer and Alfred's head turned upwards.

"You…" Alfred muttered then stood up. He loomed over to Arthur and stared down at him. Arthur's eyes were wide. He edged his hand closer to Al's shoulder, but Alfred swung back his arm. I gasped sharply as the Alfred's fist collided with Arthur's lip. He groaned and fell backwards to the ground.

"You son of a bitch!" Alfred screamed down at him. He wrenched his arm back and smashed his fist into the side of Arthur's jaw.

Arthur fell onto his back and Alfred leaped on top of him. He tightened his fist around Arthur's collar then began to throw punch after punch down across his face. "You did this! You killed them!" Alfred's cried hysterically.

I stared in horror as Arthur's face soon blistered open in scares and bruises. Alfred's hits became harder and his face gleamed in the enormous tears that rolled down from his eyes. Miss Jamie looked up from Samuel and cried harder. "Oh, stop it! Stop it! Why are you two fighting!"

Alfred pulled back his arm once more but was stopped by Davidson. "That's enough Mister Alfred," Davidson said roughly, wrapping one strong arm around his Alfred's waist and yanking him off the other. They backed away, Alfred still throwing his fists at the air in a flurry, and Arthur finally sitting up. He stared down at his hand he held under his chin then coughed in it, a mixture of blood and saliva falling from his mouth. He looked up at Alfred with shocked eyes.

Alfred broke away from Davidson and pointed at Arthur. "You stay away from me…I hate you—I hate you!" he said. Everyone watched as Alfred turned and knelt back down beside me. Arthur kept seated on the ground, his eyes wide and glazed.

I stared at Arthur for a moment longer before returning my attention to Samuel. Blood still spread from his stomach, the nauseating red color slowly covering the section of the street he laid on. I realized that my nightmare was no longer a nightmare. All of it was real

Miss Jamie let out a painful squeal as Samuels hand lightly closed around hers. His eyes opened a slit then fell shut, a deathly hiss of breath exhaling from his lips. Everyone stared at him with a mixture of hope and hopelessness. I doubt anyone even notice Arthur, who stood up slowly from the ground then turned and walked off through the crowd, face still pale eyes still blank.

—

The doctors finally came. They practically had to wrench Miss Jamie off of Samuel and even at that they still couldn't keep her from following them. They couldn't keep any of us back.

Davidson, Alfred and I all joined in the small store room where the doctors took Samuel. They placed him on a table and ripped open his shirt, reviling to the world the large hole in the middle of his stomach. They draped a scolding hot rag over his wound to clean it then allowed an older man to start digging for the bullet. I felt like I was going to faint when the man pulled out the round piece of metal out, a line of sticky blood still attached to it. They sewed up the wound then told us to wait with him, just in case he wakes up during the night. Davidson set up chairs around the room for us to sit in though Miss Jamie wouldn't stop standing next to the table. I ended up crying myself to sleep on Alfred's lap.

I woke up shortly after a scream echoed through the room. My eyes opened wide and I looked out in front of me. Miss Jamie was crying severely and pounding on the floor. She flung her messy hair about and screamed some more till Alfred finally picked her up. He struggled to keep her hands from scratching at his face as she demanded to be let down.

I looked over at Samuel and instantly knew what had happened—Samuel had died.

His face was a strange color of white and his chest looked unnaturally flat. The morning light that crept through the windows made his skin look dull and pasty. Sweat gleamed up his scalp making his hair limp. His head was turned towards me. His lips were parted and his eyes softly closed. It was strange to look at him but I couldn't stop. He looked like he was sleeping, like if I went over I could wake him up.

Alfred told Davidson to take me back home and I was soon walking out of the room with him. Davidson moved us through the streets of the town, now empty and still, and we were up the pathway before I knew it. When we opened the door to the house, Miss Mary sped around the corner.

"Oh, Lord…what has happened?" she asked with a tone of apprehension. Davidson didn't need to say anything for the message to come across.

I went and sat on the bottom step of the stairway as Miss Mary began to cry into Davidson's arms. I pulled my knees up to my chest and curled up in a ball. My head was pounding and my skin felt dry. The house felt like it was going the collapse around me. The day had gone by so fast. So much had happened, but it all still felt like a dream.

About five days later, the five people of the incident were buried: Crispus Attucks, Mr. Samuel Gray, Mr. James Caldwell, Patrick Carr, and our beloved Samuel Maverick.

Miss Jamie, Miss Mary, Davidson, Alfred and I were the last to leave the service. Miss Jamie raised her fingers to her lips and placed them back to the ground multiple times, figuratively kissing the face she would never see again. Alfred held my hand with an iron grip. I looked up at him and noticed he was staring of to the side, his eyes dangerously dark. I looked over the same way and spotted Arthur. He was far off leaning against the side of a post, dressed in black, face molded into a blank gaze.

They never stopped looking at each other. The sound a something snapping reverberated against the air. At that moment, everything between the two vanished.

The Boston Massacre. Reviews are welcome~